Court Overturns Ragland Conviction

Frankfort, KY – The Kentucky Supreme Court has overturned the murder conviction of Shane Ragland, the man convicted of the 1994 sniper killed of a UK football player and has ordered a new trial. TRhe court's decision late Thursday morning hinged on whether a comment made by a prosecutor during his closing argument improperly mentioned that Ragland exercised his fifth amendment right to not testify. In a 4-3 decision, the court found that prosecutor Mike Malone's closing statement "requires" that Ragland get a new trial. Justice William Cooper wrote in the majority opinion " the prosuctor's comment on ( Ragland's ) failure to testify was intentional and flagrant". It said the violation of Ragland's fifth amendment right not to be a witness against himself requires reversal and a new trial